Debt Questions

My bankruptcy is due to drop off my files this year. I have a mortgage, credit card and standard bank account which are all on the files and up to date.

I want to know do i still have to say that I have been declared bankrupt once the record drops off the file?

The reason I ask is because with some house insurances they ask this question and it ends up doubling the premium. Other insurances don't ask the question but once you read the small print it states if you have been declared bankrupt it can void any claims. The last thing I need is for something major to happen to the house and end up with a large bill that I have to pay because my insurance say that I was made bankrupt

Do we have to live with it for the rest of our lives or is there a cut off point?

yes, you have to declare it if asked forever. If you needed to claim, I bet the ins company would check and find out, just because it has dropped off your credit files does not mean there is no record of it anywhere else. Remember it is in the London Gazette archives for a start.

Its also recorded on the Insolvency Services Archive in Birmingham for all times, and most insurance subscribe to the data there.

Mortgages and Insurance are two items that we strongly suggest you always be honest with

Tim

On getting a quote from AA Home Insurance after going through a compare website and answering Yes to if I have ever been declared bankrupt, i read this in the AA assumptions section "have never been or are not about to be declared bankrupt, or are now discharged from bankruptcy"

As I am discharged 5 years does this statement mean I can take the insurance out with the AA? It's very confusing and I don't want to void our house insurance

Interesting.... Ive never been asked this.

Better check out my policies I have 3!

my response is - it depends on the question (ignoring cases where the bankruptcy was annulled)

are you an undischarged bankrupt? - you could safely answer no once discharged

are you or have you ever been bankrupt? - you would have to say yes, for ever and a day - just confirm when your discharge happened? Anything else would be untrue and might have consequences.

are you bankrupt? - this is a toughie as once discharged you are a "discharged bankrupt". I would suggest no is appropriate, but be cautious and if you think complete honesty is necessary in the context of the question (eg the consequences would be dire if they thought you had intentionally misled) then say "yes, although I was discharged on ....."

I thought it was only 7 years after your discharge that you have to disclose such info.

No, if the question is asked you have to answer truthfully for the rest of your life!

What if it's not asked but in their small print? Do we still have to tell them?

Yes, if you are being honest.

I allways say no,
but I haven't tried to claim...ever
That would be the test

I've been getting really annoyed reading that my BR will be on file forever yet another example of the joke that is the Data Protection Act. Even criminals eventually get their convictions spent, however, we seem to be viewed as worse.

I went BR in Mar08 & i certainly was never told it would be on file forever. My u/standing was it stayed on CRA files for 6 yrs & then that was it.

So how do we get round this unfair rule. Well i intend to write to my MP to urge a change in the law but don't hold your breath. In the meantime to get round this rule i would wait for 6 yrs until the CRA records are clear & then change my name to get a total fresh start. Although this would probably work better if i moved house at the same time. Then to make double sure change my name again after a few months in case of questions about prev names & trying to link records.

As far as i know all this is perfectky legal.

Thanks

It falls of your Credit Reference Files after 6 years, and this is what most lenders look at for normal levels of lending.

However, it remains a matter of public record forever, simply because it was a court matter, and this is publicly accessible, for example on the London Gazette.

What is not understood, is that after 6 years it 'disappears' from the gazettes, until (I believe) 75 years has elapsed then it can be found again. This is new and only applies to the online versions.

It will remain accessible though to authorised organisations, such as mortgage lenders via the Bankruptcy Record Office in Birmingham for all time, but only to authorised organisations, not normal creditors.

No pointing trying to challenge this, as it is encompassed in law, has already been challenged at the high courts and more importantly y having this in place has prevented fraud in the past.

Yes what you are suggesting is possible, but will result a link to your old file and then you will also end up with a CIFAS entry, which is more damaging than a bankruptcy.

Many people who have been bankrupt get mortgages, and once it is off the CRF, they very often get it at the same rate as all others.

Have a CIFAS record and you will never get a mortgage!

Tim

I think its a bit drastic to go changing names and moving houses.

I really could not care less where my bankruptcy is stored. I wiped out around £100,000 of debt, having my name somewhere is well worth that.

I have a council house so no need for a mortgage ever again and I have managed for 3 years now with no credit and a basic bank account. I can live fine like this for the rest of my life, I have savings now too, so never need to apply for credit again